Essentially, the court held that the state could do an end run around the constitution by setting up a “public corporation” (Empire State Development Corp.) to receive funds from the state and hand them over to private firms when the state itself could not do so.

We vehemently disagree and intend to file an immediate appeal. The state cannot amend the Constitution by statute, obviously. We will also propose an amendment to the state constitution to emphasize that the current ban on corporate welfare really means what it says.

But for now, the state can continue to collect money from its citizens by threat of prison and hand that money over to millionaires and billionaires.

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2 thoughts on “Pork lawsuit dismissed”

Amending the CONstitution to enforce the CONstitution. Kind of like smacking your head against a wall to get rid of a headache and getting really mad that every time you smack your head that darned headache gets worse.

You want a CONstitutional amendment? Try one that makes legiscritters personally responsible for any state debt over $300,000. Makes them actionable by any citizen or resident of NY in small claims court to a maximum award (per litigant) of $25 for each time they violate their oath of office. Would they ignore that with impunity? Sure they would. But before that many would retire rather than take the chance. And would you like to see their indemnity insurance rates and coverage exclusions?